James B. Frazier, Jr. papers

Scope and Contents

This collection consist of 25 linear feet of Mr. Frazier’s personal papers while both in and out of public office, the papers range from 1890 to 1978. Mr. Frazier was an attorney, a U.S. Attorney, and a Congressman from the state of Tennessee (Democrat-1948-1962). The collection includes his personal and political correspondence, his financial records, political documents such as speech transcripts, documents, voting records, and bills. There is also additional Frazier family material, including genealogical records, and some documents and correspondence of his father, James B. Frazier, Sr., the former governor of Tennessee.

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Conditions Governing Access

The James B. Frazier, Jr. papers collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright status of this collection has not been evaluated.

Biographical / Historical

James Beriah Frazier, Jr.(1890-1978) was a prominent figure in Tennessee politics, and was from a family that had a tradition in public service, politics and local affairs. The son of a former two-term Tennessee governor and state senator, James B. Frazier, Jr. entered public life in 1933 as a U.S. Attorney for East Tennessee. He held this position until 1948, when he was elected to Congress, as a congressman of the Third Congressional District of Tennessee. He campaigned on his support of conservation, TVA and the Marshall Plan. He won the position vacated by Estes Kefauver, who was elected to the U.S. Senate that same year. Representative Frazier served in Congress until 1962, when he was defeated by Wilkes T. Thrasher, Jr. By that time Representative Frazier had served seven terms. As a Congressman, Representative Frazier rose in House hierarchy and was eventually named to the House Ways and Means Committee.
James B. Frazier, Jr. attended Chattanooga schools, including the Baylor School, and received his collegiate degree from the University of Virginia. In 1914 he received his law degree from the Chattanooga College of Law and, after being admitted to the bar, began practicing in a partnership with his father, James B. Frazier, Sr. In 1917 James B. Frazier, Jr. volunteered for service in the U.S. Army and was commissioned a second lieutenant in field artillery after training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. During WW I he rose to the rank of Major. After the war, he returned to Chattanooga and resumed his legal practice. In 1933 he was appointed U.S. District Attorney for East Tennessee, and was reappointed in 1934, 1938, 1942, and 1946. He married Elizabeth Hope in 1939 and had one daughter, Elizabeth Hope Frazier. Representative Frazier was a member of Tennessee and American Bar Associations, S.A.E. Fraternity, and the American Legion.
Upon retiring in 1962 Representative Frazier lived in Chattanooga and died in 1978.

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